The Daily Texan 2022-03-1

DT VOLUME 122, ISSUE 52 TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

combating ignorance through education UT professor Leonard Moore was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for his book “Teaching Black History to White People.” copyright dr. leonard moore, and reproduced with permission

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Dr. Leonard Moore talks importance of teaching Black history to white students, NAACP nomination.

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Editor-in-chief candidate Megan Tran advocates for the importance of student and print journalism.

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UT architecture professor receives three grants to investigate transportation accessibility in the U.S.

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Baseball fan club Occupy Left Field expands to nonprofit work using NIL deals with players.

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WORLD

Ukrainian, Russian students at UT react to Russia invasion of Ukraine

By Hope Unger

(512) 232-2207 news@thedailytexan.com The Texan strives to present all information fairly, accurately and completely. If we have made an error, let us know about it. E-mail managingeditor@thedailytexan.com.

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Russian and Ukrainian students say they fear for their family and friends’ safety after Russia invaded Ukraine with military force Thursday morning.

Explosions have been heard in major cities across Ukraine since Russia invaded, according to the Associated Press, and world leaders have condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attack.

This is a major escalation between the two countries since the Russo-Ukrainian war started in February 2014. As protests arise around the world in response to the recent attacks, a common phrase heard is “Слава Україні, Героям слава” which translates to “Glory to Ukraine” with the response “Glory to the Heroes.”

Environmental engineering junior Katerina Arellano said she was raised in Chernivtsi, Ukraine, until she was four years old. She said all of her family is in the United States, but she has close friends still in Ukraine.

“Ukraine and Chernivtsi feel like my happy place,” Arellano said. “It felt like Russia was just trying to take my happy place away from me.”

Arellano said the Russian invasion of Ukraine feels like a continuation of World War II, and that there are people who don’t realize how awful the situation is.

“Putin has a lot of issues, just personally, and I think it’s unfair he’s leading a country and all these troops,” Arellano said. “I think he probably wants to redo the Soviet Union again.”

Unspecified business sophomore Taisia Pominov said she was raised in Moscow, Russia, until she was two years old, and she grew up in a Russian household immersed in her families’ culture. She said she has family currently in Russia and checks in on them.

Pominov said some Russian media is spreading the wrong information to their citizens.

“I had called (my grandma) and she’s like, ‘Russian military’s only hitting mil-

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Environmental engineering junior Katerina Arellano, who spent a large part of her childhood in Ukraine, takes a selfie with her family. Russian and Ukrainian students say they fear for their family and friends’ safety after Russia invaded Ukraine Thursday morning.

itary bases,’” Pominov said. “(But) I was reading the news and it’s not just military bases that they’re targeting. They’re targeting apartments, the government in Kyiv and where people live.”

Pominov said it is a privilege that Americans have news and freedom of speech. She also said her 11-year-old brother was protesting against the war at the Russian embassy in Houston.

“The biggest thing is even if you can’t donate, spreading information about donating, educating yourself on what’s going on, sharing the news, helping people when you can, having support, checking in with your Ukrainian and Russian friends and making sure all of their families are OK,” Pominov said. “It’s the biggest thing that we as students can do.”

Marina Alexandrova, an associate professor of instruction for Russian studies, said she is giving her students the chance to discuss current events during class.

“Right now, I see my role as somebody who is providing them with reliable information, connecting them with scholars in the field and holding that space where they can freely and openly

discuss (the) intellectual and emotional aspects of their reactions to the situation,” Alexandrova said.

Misha Simanovskyy, a graduate student in the Center for Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian Studies and the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs, said his parents are in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine. He said this area of Ukraine is not actively engaged in military conflict.

“My parents yesterday, they just had their first air raid,” Simanovskyy said.

“People had to go over to the bomb shelters, or subway stations. There are only three (subway stations).”

Simanovskyy said he watches every video that covers the invasion and thinks it’s only going to get worse now.

“In my classes, when we were speaking about this before … (in) like late October, it was so absurd to think about it, and I was basically denying this large scale invasion up until the last days,” Simanovskyy said. “It’s hard because, like today, I’m going to classes, so I’m going to tell my classmates that I was wrong and I’m sorry for misleading them.”

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News Editor | @THEDAILYTEXAN TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

UNIVERSITY

UT professor receives 3 grants focused on transportation accessibility Architecture professor Alex Karner receives three grants to investigate transportation accessibility in the U.S.

By Joelle DiPaolo @JoelleDipaolo

egional planning professor Alex Karner received three grants totaling over $400,000 for projects investigating transportation accessibility in the U.S. Karner’s first project analyzes how closing voting locations impacts voter turnout, while the second aims to develop an Austin housing and transportation cost analysis tool.

The third examines the disparate impacts of transportation policies on Black communities as well as how to make reparations, said Karner.

Karner said all of the projects aim to amend transportation and housing policies that have harmed lower-income communities in the past and to to hold officials accountable in the future.

The Democracy Fund, a charity aiming to improve the U.S. democratic process, granted Karner $100,000 in September to work on the first project, known as the Voter Turnout and Accessibility Measurement project. Researchers will use statistical models to determine how the number of available voting locations impacts the number of

voters, Karner said. These models will also be used to determine how polling locations can impact voter participation in specific communities.

“If we can estimate statistical models that get at the relationship between proximity or travel time and likelihood of voting, then we could say, ‘If you close locations, you’re going to lose this much voter participation,’” Karner said. “The important thing is figuring out … demographics that are affected by any shift in polling locations.”

The city of Austin granted Karner and architecture assistant professor Gian-Claudia Sciara $60,000 in October for their work on the second project: a housing and transportation cost analysis tool for Austin.

Sciara said that although there is national data about the relationship between the two, having more community-specific data can help the city increase affordability.

Karner said knowing these metrics can help the city with their housing and transportation policies.

“Locations where transportation costs are particularly high … might be ideal to locate a new express bus route,” Karner said.

“It’s about having the information that can empower the city to advocate for certain land use and transportation options.”

In November, the Transportation Research Board granted Karner $250,000 to investigate the role of transportation policies in harming Black communities throughout the country. Karner said their goal for the third project is to alleviate some of the harm caused by transportation decisions.

“It’s a one-two punch of being heavily burned by the

jacob levy

/ the daily texan staff

Alex Karner, a professor in the School of Architecture, received multiple grants focused on transportation and housing policy.

infrastructure and not benefiting from it,” Karner said. “The goal of the project is to come up with policies and practices that transportation agencies can use today to redress that historical impact and atone for the violence and harm.”

Kendra Ma, policy analyst for the Thrivance Group and a partner on the project, said they plan on creating a primer for officials and a community guidebook for citizens so that they can hold their elected officials accountable.

“We need elected (officials) to be informed about why historical policies are still making an impact today, and what they can do to change that,” Ma said. “If you’re increasing access for people, make sure that you’re really serving the people who have been harmed the most and also including them in the decision-making process.”

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Editor-In-Chief | @TEXANOPINION TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

COLUMN

OPINION

Preserve and protect independent student newspapers Editor’s note: Megan Tran is currently running unopposed to become the next editor-in-chief of The Daily Texan. For this column, she was given the following prompt: In the past few weeks, we have seen the importance of print journalism and student journalism undermined by other campus administrations. Why do you believe that student and print journalism are important to preserve?

By Megan Tran

n 1974, UT System Board of Regents chairman Frank Erwin Jr. attempted to cut The Daily Texan’s funding and declared: “We do not fund anything that we don’t control.” Erwin was angered by editorials critical of his administration and wanted to silence those who sought to hold him accountable. He was unsuccessful — largely because of students and alumni who protested his attempts at censorship.

Now, decades later, student journalism and print journalism remain under fire by campus administrators. On January 11, The Battalion, Texas A&M’s student newspaper, reported that University President Banks demanded they cease print production. Banks maintains that administration has no inten-

tions of controlling the paper but wants to transition The Battalion to the department of journalism, which would give the college oversight over published content. Regardless of administrative reasoning, the paper’s independence and its future are in peril.

Texas A&M and UT-Austin have long competed, but attempts to silence or censor student voices transcend any such rivalries. Independent student and print journalism are time-honored traditions across college campuses that must be preserved and protected, and they play a crucial role in holding university administrations accountable, advocating for student interests and uplifting the voices of those from marginalized communities.

Many have argued that with the rise of digital media, print newspapers will become obsolete. Yet, they are still here. As someone who reads every day for both school and pleasure, I only resort to digital texts when there is no alternative, and I’m not the only one who feels this way. Studies have found that most American consumers prefer print newspapers to digital ones.

While reading on electronic devices may be convenient, we already spend much of our time online, and this has only increased with the introduction of remote learning and working during the pandemic.

LEGALESE | Opinions expressed in The Daily Texan are those of the editor, the Editorial Board or the writer of the article. They are not necessarily those of the UT administration, the Board of Regents or the Texas Student Media Board of Operating Trustees.

Unfortunately, this excessive screen time has negative consequences: visual and mental fatigue, headaches and increased insomnia. Research has also shown that printed text is easier to understand than digital text, which means that those who read physical newspapers are more likely to retain and comprehend information.

Furthermore, because consumers place greater trust in printed publications — even when a digital version exists — print journalism plays a crucial role on college campuses. Student publications are the primary source of information for students to stay updated on university developments, and they must be able to trust that information is true, which is why we must also preserve independent student journalism.

Because The Daily Texan is

SUBMIT A FIRING LINE | Email your Firing Lines to editor@dailytexanonline.com. Letters must be more than 100 and fewer than 300 words. The Texan reserves the right to edit all submissions for brevity, clarity and liability.

composed of student reporters and our editor-in-chief is elected by the student body, we’re responsible for representing the multitude of voices on our campus. I’ll be the first to admit that we haven’t always been successful in that goal and that our platform has sometimes been used to hurt instead of help, but we are changing, and I intend to be a part of that.

UT is a great school, but it has failed on many fronts. Our school song is still “The Eyes of Texas,” despite its racist origins and protests from Black students. Rather than listen to students of color, UT has chosen to uphold damaging traditions and prioritize demands of wealthy donors. Professors who have been found in violation of sexual misconduct policies still teach, and although UT has promised sexual mis-

conduct reform in the wake of student protests, no substantial progress has been made. Students living in Riverside face insufficient and inconsistent transportation services.

I could continue, but in short, UT must be held accountable for its failure to support its students, particularly those from marginalized communities — and that begins with an independent student paper that is not afraid to criticize its university.

As Willie Morris, a former Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Texan, once said, “One of the great traditions is that (the Texan) editors have stood firm (against censorship efforts). I think the Texan remains the greatest college paper in the country because it’s still free.”

Tran is a Plan II, English, and sociology sophomore from Houston, Texas.

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NEWS

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TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

FOOD

Halal Bros reopens after 2021 fire forced owners to rebuild

By Leena Alali @TheDailyTexan

The highly frequented restaurant Halal Bros on Guadalupe Street reopened on Feb. 25, after a fire last April caused damage to the building.

Saleem Attal, restaurant co-owner, said poor electrical wiring likely caused the fire. The newly rebuilt restaurant has a larger dining area for students to eat in comfortably, he said.

The restaurant will be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and will offer a limited menu under a softopening status.

“The positive that came out of (the fire) was we were able to rebuild this place even better than before,” said Mohamad Attal, co-owner of the restaurant.

The Attal family, originally from New York, moved to Austin in 2010 to offer authentic cart food to the community, Saleem said. Over the years, what started out as a small downtown truck has grown into three brick-andmortar stores located in various parts of the city.

“We’re a small business … run by brothers … who took the idea of New York style street food and brought it to Austin, Texas,” Mohamad said. “We always wanted to stand out as the pioneers for Austin.”

Following the fire, the Attal family hopes they are able to provide food for students on the Drag again, Saleem said.

When computer science sophomore Danny Bernal moved to Austin, he had trouble finding

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food he liked compared to his hometown of Houston, which he said has more diverse food options. After some searching, Bernal fell in love with Halal Bros.

“It’s definitely in my list of gotos since I got here to Austin a few months ago,” Bernal said. “It’s the only place that I’ve liked so far, and it’s super reliable for their quality and taste.”

The Attal family said Halal Bros wants to be able to provide enough food in one portion to give students enough leftovers for the next day. Due to the pandemic, the restaurant has increased the price of some of their menu items to maintain their large serving sizes, Saleem said.

“We’ve just been doing it like that for the past 10 years,” Saleem said.

alyssa olvera

/ the daily texan staff

Halal Bros will reopen at 2712 Guadalupe St. after a fire last April.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

LIFE&ARTS

FOOD

Nationally recognized restaurant Bird Bird Biscuit soars to success

By Sage Dunlap @SageDunlapp

While roaming Austin’s streets, hungry visitors and city dwellers alike can find award winning restaurants and exclusive reservation-only bars at every turn — a foodie’s paradise. However, one quaint breakfast spot on Manor Road, decorated with bright yellow chairs and large painted chickens, stands out among the city’s extensive dining catalog.

In January, the quirky Austin restaurant Bird Bird Biscuit earned recognition on Yelp’s “Top 100 Places to Eat in America” list, taking the No. 5 spot. Specializing in creative spins on chicken and biscuits — a

classic southern delicacy — since 2018, the restaurant’s comforting menu and colorful atmosphere garnered it enough popularity to open a second location on Koenig Lane during the COVID-19 lockdown.

However, for co-owner and UT alumnus Brian Batch, the national title did little to change his mindset about the ever-growing business.

“I still don’t know that it’s possible for me to wrap my head around (the ranking),” Batch said. “I’ll never let it go to my head. With every single item on the menu, we have spent thousands of hours — especially with the biscuit — tweaking it and honing it in. We’re three years in, and to this day, we’re still striving to make it a

little bit better.”

Before Batch and current co-owner Ryan McElroy launched Bird Bird Biscuit in 2018, the pair worked together at McElroy’s East Austin cafe Thunderbird Coffee, where Batch started as a barista and eventually worked his way up to general manager. After bonding over their love of food and cafe culture, the two sought to bring a unique dining experience to Austin and embarked on a nationwide food tour, finding inspiration in cities like Los Angeles, Nashville and Denver.

“We wanted to see what was resonating with people in different areas,” Batch said. “By that process, we still wanted to do a sandwich shop, but we could do that with breakfast, which is something that people love in Austin.”

When the co-owners discovered that Yelp ranked Bird Bird Biscuit one of the best restaurants in the nation, neither could fully understand the scale of the

endorsement. McElroy said the pair reacted to the exciting news in their own unique ways. “​​ The first couple weeks afterwards, there was a big bounce,” McElroy said. “We were already really busy, especially at our Manor location. It really helped the most with accelerating the growth of our other locations … The recognition from Yelp catapulted us maybe six months in the future to where we would have been otherwise.”

The business boomed, and many Austinites and UT students discovered the restaurant as a result of the ranking. Journalism freshman Mirya Dila said Yelp’s raving endorsement convinced her to test out the restaurant. She said she ordered the Bird Bird Bacon sandwich, and it did not disappoint.

“The biscuit tasted so good,” Dila said. “It was so fluffy, and it was the perfect consistency. It tasted like heaven.”

copyright bird bird biscuit, and reproduced with permission

LIFE&ARTS

ZOE TZANIS

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Life&Arts Editor | @TEXANARTS TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

FEATURE

Professor earns NAACP nomination

Dr. Leonard Moore talks importance of teaching Black history to white students, NAACP nomination.

By Reya Mosby @reyamosby

he sun beamed on Dr. Leonard Moore as he spread out by the side of his backyard pool, sifting through emails. His ringtone pierced the air as his inbox flooded with congratulatory messages.

Relentless calls prompted him to go back and further examine an email he originally overlooked. After quickly going to the NAACP website and scrolling through a star-studded list of names, he found his own.

As reality set in, he sat in awe as the onslaught of congratulatory messages continued to come in. He had earned a nomination for an NAACP Image Award.

“The book’s nomination is a testament

that I’ve made a positive contribution to the culture, and that’s important,” Moore said.

American history professor Leonard Moore was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the outstanding instructional literary work category for his book, “Teaching Black History to White People,” published Sept. 14, 2021. The 53rd annual NAACP Image Award show, broadcasted Feb. 26, highlighted the work of people of color in over 80 categories. What began as Moore just recording his thoughts on Black studies turned out to be stellar, nationally recognized writing.

“I come into contact with a lot of white people who don’t understand Black frustration,” Moore said. “They have no understanding of the Black experience. (This book) was a way for me to put these ideas down on paper.”

After the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, racial tension found its way to the forefront of the American psyche. While some took to protest, Moore said the exposure to American ignorance and division inspired him to write “Teaching Black History to White People,” which he described as a memoir, guidebook and history lesson about the importance of teaching Black history to everyone.

“You can live in an integrated neighborhood but still live in a segregated

sophie stoeger

/ the daily texan staff

American history professor Leonard Moore giving a lecture in a classroom on Feb. 24.

world,” Moore said. “Black people get frustrated because we think white folks should know, but they don’t because they’ve never been taught.”

Black studies have always been the subject of Moore’s passion, whose life’s goal has always been being a Black history teacher. He achieved that lifelong dream, and is the professor of several Black studies courses at UT. Nick Grammer, a biomedical engineering and African and African diaspora studies freshman, said he appreciates the blunt and truthful way Moore approaches teaching these courses to white students. “(His teaching) makes me more empathetic,” Grammer said. “A lot of derogatory and demeaning things are placed upon the Black community, but we’re not getting the knowledge we need to understand why things happen the way they happen. In the white community, we only talk about white people.”

Exercise science freshman Madison Buckley said honesty about racial issues, historical context and personal anecdotes characterize both Moore’s teaching and his book, making “Teaching Black History to White People” impossible to put down.

“Even though he’s a tenured professor, he makes a lot of money (and) he’s respectable, he still goes through the same problems a Black kid from a bad neighborhood (would),” Buckley said. “I learned stuff that I didn’t learn in normal textbooks.”

Despite Tabitha Brown’s victory in the category, the nomination of Moore’s book proved it to be an impressive and impactful work. However, he said he wrote this book as a way to combat ignorance through education rather than for an award.

“This is a big deal, (but) you can’t write books or movies with the goal of (getting an) award,” Moore said. “You do the work that God has called you to do, and if other people notice, that’s extra.”

HANNAH WILLIFORD

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Sports Editor | @TEXANSPORTS TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

BASEBALL

SPORTS

Occupy Left Field tailgate expands into philanthropy, volunteering through NIL Baseball fan club Occupy Left Field expands to nonprofit work using NIL deals.

By Jordan Mitchell @TheJordanKenzie

s a lifelong Longhorn fan, Marc Peña understands how special it is to be raised at UFCU Disch-Falk Field.

The Austinite saw the Longhorns compete in frequent College World Series tournaments under College Baseball Hall of Fame head coaches Cliff Gustafson and Augie Garrido.

After attending and graduating from the University of Texas himself, the baseball superfan sought a community where friends and family could come together to support Longhorn baseball through its highs and lows.

Alongside Jeff Cross and other Texas baseball fans, Peña informally established Occupy Left Field about 14 years ago as a tailgate situated just outside Disch-Falk’s chain link fence in left field. Originally a

place where people could hang out and have fun, the group continued growing through the years, eventually establishing itself as a face of Texas baseball culture.

But Occupy Left Field is more than a tailgate.

In February, Occupy Left Field announced that it would branch into nonprofit work as the Occupy Left Field Foundation. “(The foundation is) Texas alumni, older players, and our group. (All) of us (came) together to start the foundation,” Peña said. “(The alumni) came to us (because) they wanted to put a name to (the foundation) that people would recognize.”

As a registered 501 (c)(3) organization, the foundation said it will volunteer and provide donations to local Austin charities such as RBI Austin, which helps make youth sports more affordable for inner-city youth. To do this, the group hopes to work with current Texas baseball players to volunteer and appear at community events.

“We want the kids to put in the time (at) the local charities to get something back from our foundation,” Peña said. “A portion of the money that we raise is going directly to the charities. The rest of it will go to the players.”

The foundation’s ability to offer contracts to current players is the result of updated NCAA and Texas policies surrounding athletes’ ability to profit off of their name, image and likeness. Under previous policies, student-athletes would not have been allowed to receive payment for the types of appearances

assad malik

/ the daily texan staff

Members of Occupy Left Field watch weekend matchup against Alabama.

the organization hopes to enlist current Longhorns for.

Peña said that involving Texas baseball players in volunteering and fundraising efforts is important to the nonprofit because of the lack of full scholarships for all student-athletes.

“There’s 40 guys on the (baseball) team right now sharing less than 12 scholarships,” Peña said.

Rewarding players financially also helps to ensure that Texas remains an attractive place to play to high school

recruits. With the new collegiate landscape driven by NIL policies, players that would have otherwise gone straight to the MLB Draft might opt to play college baseball or stay in school for longer than they otherwise would have.

“If you’re a program like Texas, you have to get involved in this to make sure that you stay competitive,” Peña said.

“We’re really depending on the Texas fan base to come together and (donate to) make sure that happens.”

SPORTS

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TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Young Texas women’s basketball team grows together as NCAA Tournament approaches

By Elijah Garcia @elijah_garciia

Head coach Vic Schaefer and the No.9 Texas women’s basketball team is on a six-game winning streak, bringing the team to a 21-6 record on the season. With only two games left in the regular season, the young team has made vast improvements to prepare for the tournament.

A strong early-season win against Stanford set the bar high for Texas.

Despite the Longhorn’s impressive record since then, Schaefer felt the team hasn’t lived up to that level of play since.

However, he feels the Longhorns are rounding into shape with Texas’ current win streak.

“We’re young, inexperienced and we’re immature,” Schaefer said. “It’s just who we are right now. That’s part of coaching.

You have to bring them along, develop them, nurture them and get them to that point where that’s not an issue. For this

team, it’s not going to happen overnight.”

Since the start of their season, the Longhorns have worked for several impressive wins against rival opponents.

They currently sit just inside the AP Top 10 and are looking to finish the season with a two seed for the NCAA Tournament. Shaefer has credited the team’s leadership, specifically seniors Joanne Allen-Taylor and Audrey Warren, for development within the team.

“I told Jo and Audrey, ‘Hey, it’s your senior year, you make sure that everybody’s focused in practice, you make sure we have good practices leading up to games, you make sure that everybody’s ready,’” Schaefer said. “Jo and Audrey, when they do speak up, people listen.

They have a voice, they have a presence.”

Many of the Texas players have felt a similar growth within the team. Sophomore guard Shay Holle said her connection with her teammates and the coaching staff has been key to the team’s success.

“I love my teammates and the coaching staff,” Holle said. “That makes it a lot easier really just buying into the team.”

Senior guard Allen-Taylor, who has star freshman guard Rori Harmon said. played the most minutes out of anyone on “That’s one thing that we’ll always do the team, stressed the importance of beevery game.” ing able to rely on her fellow Longhorns As the regular season comes to an during game action. end, the team’s current six-game win “It’s just trust that you have in each streak is the perfect time to be heating other,” Allen-Taylor said. “There’s nobody up. The entire team is feeling the rush else you want to be on the floor with. It’s of excitement and anticipation as the these girls or nobody, so that’s the confitournament nears. dence I have in them. It’s just my family.”

“I’m excited for our kids,” Schaefer Out of the 13 playes on the women’s said. “They got a chance to do something team, 8 are underclassmen. But according special. It doesn’t happen every year, but to freshman guard Rori Harmon, the inthis team, this year, right now, in this tensity of the squad is ingrained. an opportunity, so “You’ll never catch ourThe Texas womNew York Timesmoment, Syndicationthey Saleshave Corporation 620 Eighth en’s basketball team not playing hard,”Avenue, we’llNew seeYork, how N.Y. it all10018 plays out.”

For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Tuesday, February 22, 2022

Crossword ACROSS 1 “I feel pretty, ___ pretty” (“West Side Story” lyric) 5 Spray lightly 9 Sore from exercise, say 13 Chicken or duck 14 Artificial feature in New York’s Central Park 15 Oak or beech 16 Possible requirements for joining a tattoo club?

19 Zero 20 It’s “the word” 21 Not great, as chances 23 Material easily mistaken for aluminum 24 A healthy person regularly calling in sick, e.g.?

28 Drifting sheet 30 Italian author Umberto 31 Lil ___ X

32 Give up 33 Point 35 Italian author Ferrante 37 What a nervous public speaker sounds like?

41 As an ___ (parenthetically) 44 Outdoor “carpet” 45 Intro to girl 49 Word in a “Batman” balloon 50 Org. that creates the G.R.E. 53 “Carrying the Banner” musical 55 Preceded in commenting on an adorable kitten photo, say?

58 Megan Thee Stallion genre 59 Annual festival in Austin, Tex. 60 Sigma/upsilon go-between 61 Tabloid twosome

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE

assad malik

/ the daily texan staff

Senior Audrey Warren drives to the hoop against Iowa State. Warrren is averaging 9.1 points in 27 games this season.

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63 Lucy’s emptybooth sign in “Peanuts” … or a hint to 16-, 24-, 37- and 55-Across 68 Uncommon 69 Single-serve coffee holder 70 Cannabis strain named for its regional origin 71 Yemeni port 72 Prop for a tilting bookcase, say 73 Dog command DOWN 1 Frequently, in poetry 2 “Isn’t that special!”

3 Reacted to a dreamboat, maybe 4 Lena or Ken of film and TV 5 Reform leader memorialized in the Stone of Hope, for short 6 Billie Eilish’s “Therefore ___” 7 Economize 8 Academic job security 9 Cash-out spot?

10 It may be found above the mantle 11 The difference between a mini and a midi 12 Confident shout from an optimist 17 Singer Young or Diamond 18 Apple offering 22 High, flat land feature 23 Idiosyncrasy

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25 Good dirt

26 “Star Wars” princess-turnedgeneral 27 Ethan or Joel of filmmaking 29 “Family ___”

34 Hosts, informally

41 Transmissions triggering manhunts, for short

42 Really overdoing it, in slang 43 “They conned me!”

46 Exhaust

47 Olympic group 36 Grassy expanses with a red, white and blue insignia 38 Come face to face 48 Cleopatra’s snake 39 Sharpen 51 Pet transported in a bike basket 40 “What’s the big amid a whirlwind ___?”

52 Library area

54 Event with V-E Day and V-J Day 56 Quaint contraction

57 Rabbit holder

62 Wordless admonishments 64 Family room

65 Paris accord?

66 Dashboard reading, for short

67 “Hallowed be ___ name”

Online subscriptions: Today’s puzzle and more than 7,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

Read about and comment on each puzzle: nytimes.com/wordplay.

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TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

LIFE&ARTS

FEATURE

Tat-Tuesday: Tattoos create link between love for nature, finding peace for Preston Morgan

lorianne willett

/ the daily texan staff

Freshman Preston Morgan talks about his growing tattoo collection, which serves as a reminder of his passion for the outdoors.

By Kaiya Little @kaiyalittle

As he closes his eyes, Preston Morgan says he aches for the burn in his lungs and the satisfying crunch of gravel under his feet. Conjuring memories of summer heat and worn hiking trails, the mathematics freshman said he feels at peace watching the fading glow of the sun as it slips behind the familiar Colorado mountain ranges of his childhood.

Capturing the moment in ink, Morgan said he wanted his first tattoo — linework depicting a mountain and the sun — to be a constant reminder of the peace he finds outdoors. “(Once), we didn’t even finish the entire hike,” Morgan said. “We got pretty high up, and I remember sitting there and taking everything in.”

Commemorating both his hobbies and the connection the tatoos make betweentnature and his family, Morgan said he uses

his two tattoos as a way to find his center while reminiscing on his fun summers growing up.

“This tattoo on my arm (is) two simple mountains,” Morgan said. “But what I really like about it — and the mountains — (is that they) symbolize strength, and I can always look at them and be reassured.”

For his second tattoo, Morgan said he was primarily concerned with establishing asymmetry through location and maintaining a theme. Picking his opposite leg to contrast the ink on his arm, Morgan turned to Pinterest for a design he could make his own. “(I wanted to) continue with the whole nature thing and have a sun (that could be a) sunset or sunrise,” Morgan said. “You can look at it either way, and it can mean something different.”

Since his youth, Morgan’s family has often traveled to different states to ski or hike together depending on the season Morgan said the trips have influenced his

love for the outdoors and the calm it provides.

“Nature is a very pretty thing, and it can mean a lot of different things to different people,” Morgan said. “Nature to me is very relaxing. It encapsulates the word tranquility.”

After brainstorming potential tattoo ideas as early as his junior year of high school, Morgan said he bounced between ideas reflecting a range of interests — including art from his favorite animated series. Ultimately, though, he prioritized longevity and intention for any future design.

“It’s important to have meaningful tattoos, but at the same time, it (should be) whatever you want, as long as you’re very confident in what you want,” Morgan said. “Tattoos are a very personal experience.

For me, I’m picking (a) design that means something to me and putting it somewhere I can appreciate and will appreciate for years to come.”

LIFE&ARTS

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TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

THEATRE AND DANCE

Folklorico club revived by UT students to connect with culture, tradition

By Sarai Cantu @cantuusaraii

Fitted in his manta shirt, matching white pants and sombrero, Christopher Fierro tied a red bandana around his neck and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the stage.

The rhythmic stomping drowned out the music, and dancers threw gritos across the stage as they entranced the audience with their synchronized moves.

The performance brought forth the culture and story of Huasteca, a region on the Gulf of Mexico, in a display of music, clothing and dance. Fierro said the purpose and beauty of ballet folklorico is to explore and showcase cultural pieces.

“It’s a style, it’s culture, it’s a language being expressed through our body,” the management senior said. “It’s so much more than dance — it’s about the emotion (and) connection with the pieces, understanding the origins. We relive history on stage.

Ballet folklorico, the history of Mexico

BEYOND THE

personified through dance, shares stories which encapsulate the traditional styles of Mexican dance. For Texas Folklorico members, performing offers an opportunity to connect with personal history, and share aspects of Mexican culture with the UT community.

However, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the club struggled to maintain its on-stage energy, leaving dedicated members frustrated yet committed to rebuilding.

“Folklorico derives from different indigenous dances that were later modernized and structured to be projected in a theatrical aspect,” Fierro said. “It involves background understanding and immersion of the culture, rather than putting on shoes and tapping away.”

For Karla Cuellar Ramirez, a civil engineering and government senior, finding Folklorico at UT helped ground her when she felt lost. “(Folklorico) was a big part of my life,” she said. “Coming to UT my first year, I didn’t connect with the different organizations, there was something missing. Something

FR A ME

that connected me to my roots, along with other people.”

After joining Texas Folklorico, Ramirez found her missing piece — a safe space where she could interact with her culture and feel a sense of belonging. Ramirez said she loves learning and sharing the significance behind every piece.

“It’s connecting with other states and people,” Ramirez said. “Everything varies by region, (which is) something I didn’t notice until I got into dance.”

When looking for a student organization to help her connect to traditional Mexican culture and dance, business freshman Ana Villicana said she felt like the options were limited, and she could only find groups that performed renditions of modern Latin dances, such as bachata.

“It’s not just Bad Bunny type of dancing,” Villicana said. “There’s no traditional Hispanic dances, there isn’t that for us.”

Then she discovered folklorico. Entranced by the rhythmic stomps and vibrant dresses, Villicana fell in love with how the group per-

formed her culture.

“It’s bringing the (Mexican) tradition into (the folklorico club),” Ramirez said. “It’s my history.”

Forced to practice and perform online for the majority of 2020, Fierro said they struggled to find rehearsal spaces, and could not convey passion through screens. Fierro said while folklorico clubs at UT faced adversity in the past, a lack of resources and sponsors due to COVID-19 made matters worse, leading to the club’s disbandment in late 2020.

“We ran into problems, being able to transmit emotion and connection with the pieces and the origins to an audience was difficult,” Fierro said.

Fierro and Ramirez said that while they cannot rebuild Texas Folklorico alone, they hope to attract students, specifically underclassmen, to continue the tradition and bring the light of Mexico into the heart of Texas.

“I’m here to help out and make this happen,” Fierro said. “It’s a goal of mine to leave something (at UT). Folklorico is the way to do that, a perfect way to know Mexican culture and understand it.”

Featuring the best from the photo department.

copyright texas folklorico dance company, and reproduced with permission

connor downs

/ the daily texan staff

Valley lead singer Rob Laska holds up the phone of a fan on stage to video the crowd at Antone’s Nightclub on Feb. 25.

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REPLY

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Comics Editor | @TEXANCOMICS TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 2022

COMICS